


Binary Stars

by LadyKnightSkye



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Anakin Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Canon Divergence - Force Awakens, Canon Divergence - The Last Jedi, F/M, Force sensitive!Han, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Grey!Knights of Ren, Have I mentioned this is not canon compliant yet?, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Rey Nobody, Rey has issues, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 15:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13250982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightSkye/pseuds/LadyKnightSkye
Summary: Darth Vader survived the Battle of Endor and the death of the emperor, but disappeared for a time at least . . .Years later, Vader has returned. He is now the master of a new order, the Knights of Ren, and at his side is an expelled Jedi and a motley crew of masked warriors more Dark than Light. However, they must help the Resistance find Luke Skywalker because if there is one thing Vader is, it's protective of his children.In the middle of all of this, his young protege, Kylo Ren, and a scavenger from Jakku, Rey, find themselves allies against Snoke's student, Deirdre Callyse. More than that, they find themselves the nexus for two mysterious presences . . .*Rewrite of my old fic,A Different Star.





	Binary Stars

“We really cannot allow the First Order to find Luke.”

The female voice drifted in the darkness of the meditation chamber with a hint of amused disapproval. The tall female leaned against the doorway, having been sure to mute the hall lights so that she wouldn’t jolt the two volatile men from their peaceful contemplation of the Force. She had never personally done it, but she’d seen the other Knights of Ren learn the hard way not to startle their master or their lord. Her blue eyes swept the darkened interior of the room, although her connection to the Force already told her where the two men were. They flanked the door, one mountain of bulk on each side of the room. “Luke Skywalker is none of our concern,” came the rumbling voice on her left.

“Oh? He isn’t? I was under the impression that he was very much our concern,” she replied mildly. “You know what will happen if the First Order find him. The Resistance is losing ground. The New Republic Senate is still in denial. Organa does not need this.”

She felt both men’s very opposite reactions. The man on her left felt concern, the man on the right conflicted hostility. “As Grandfather said, that is none of our concern.”

At this point, the female had grown impatient with their stupidity. She pushed herself off the doorjamb and took one step into the room. From there she proceeded to throw the switch for the lights. Twin hisses of pain, greeted her. She didn’t pay them any mind. “It becomes our concern when you remember that the Knights of Ren are Snoke’s most coveted prize. What happens if the First Order is triumphant? Do you really think he won’t continue to come after us? Mote and Inqi have already reported that Snoke’s minions are dangerously close to where they’re keeping the younglings they’ve found. Shiv and Lore have searched all over Dagobah and Endor, but all they’ve found are burnt out remnants of villages. We of the Ren path may not be self-righteous Jedi, but I was under the impression that we still cared for the innocent and defenseless.”

Her ire pricked at the two men. “Snips,” rumbled the man on the left. “You are right. We must move. What intelligence have you gathered?”

The man on the right rose. Well, rose maybe wasn’t the right word. It was more like he unfolded, his body lean and long as opposed to his grandfather’s mountainous bulk. “I hate it when you’re right, Ashoka.”

The elder Togruta female smiled. “Han Solo and the _Millennium Falcon_ were sighted touching down on Takodana near Maz Kanata’s place.”

“Then to Takodana we go.” Vader – Darth no more - looked her in the eye, his mouth curling into a smile that she remembered from long ago. He reached for his iconic helmet, securing it to his much more comfortable suit of armor as he strode to her side. Now he was Ren Vader, Master of the Knights of Ren. She, Ren Ahsoka, helped him as the Mistress of the Knights of Ren. They would have both taken up the old naming convention of the Ren if not for the infamy of their names. Vader’s young grandson had embraced it, as had his other disenchanted friends. 

With a sigh, the young man retrieved his own helm. While Vader’s helmet was a study in skeletal horror, his was a blank mask of inhumanity. However, he wore it well, terrifying his First Order and slaver enemies while being somewhat comforting to the forgotten of the galaxy who looked to the Ren to defend them. While the First Order exploited the poor and uneducated while hobnobbing with the rich, and the Resistance did much the same, the Knights of Ren made it their mission to actually care for the common people of the galaxy who could care less about who ruled what. “Alright,” murmured Kylo Ren, “off to Takodana we go.”

~~

The girl ran through the forest on swift feet. The droid bumped and bobbled ahead of her, and she gripped the pistol in her hand with a sweaty palm. The sounds of fighting faded behind her, but she understood that something was hunting her. Something dark and evil and ravenous. She had glimpsed the dark woman on the other end of the battlefield, and knew deep to the marrow of her bones that the woman would gladly destroy her and care not a whit. She had to get away, had to keep BB-8 away. 

Suddenly, there was a dark figure ahead of her. In the split second she could only make out that he wore black robes and a blank mask. Rey pulled up quickly, bringing up her blaster with a small yelp. Her finger pulled the trigger, but the blast never landed. Instead, the dark figure held up a hand, and the bright red energy stalled in the air. “I promise,” he rumbled in a deep voice, “I will not hurt you.”

Rey cautiously lowered her blaster. “Who are you?”

The man and woman stared at each other for a few moments. Rey felt something touch her mind, a questing thing. At first, she thought to fight the thing off, to turn it away. However, after a moment, she let it stay there. It was calling to something within her too, something she’d already known was there but didn’t know how to touch. Now, it was rising up to meet the touch on the surface of her mind. She let her own power flow over and around his, and it was oddly soothing. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel the moment that the dark man had seen all he needed to see.

He nodded his head regally. “You may call me Kylo Ren. We need to get you out of here.”

She nodded, and looked back. “She’s coming.”

“I know, come.” He gestured her ahead, and Rey didn’t need telling twice. She took off at a run, and could feel him keeping pace behind her. The two of them flew through the trees, unaware of the sight that they made, her all in sun-bleached white and him in unrelieved black. They ran and ran, but Rey could still feel the presence of the evil woman behind them, chasing them deeper into the wood. She made the mistake of looking back, and her foot caught on a root.

Rey shrieked unceremoniously, and hit the ground with a thud. A sharp pain radiated out from her ankle. She knew that she would be unable to walk, unable to run, and the man called Kylo Ren would surely leave her _because that’s what always happened_ – She squeezed her eyes shut in hopeless rage and terror.

But rather than hear the thudding of feet past her, she felt two gentle hands and strong arms hoist her into the air. Her eyes popped open to find the remorseless mask of Kylo Ren looming near her face. He stood, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulder and neck as he turned and continued their flight into the trees. She buried her head into his shoulder, praying that she wouldn’t be the reason the both of them were killed. However, their escape was not to be. She felt him slow, an looked up to find a group of white clad Stormtroopers standing in their way. 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a grating feminine voice sing-songed. “The mighty Kylo Ren and a little scavenger girl.”

Rey turned to face the woman, and immediately wished she hadn’t. The woman was achingly beautiful with bright blonde hair and hard emerald eyes. Her face was sculpted by the Maker itself, and set atop a body that would make a slave of anyone who preferred women to men. She wore simple armor over her own black robes. She was death wrapped in beauty. “Now,” the woman said, “where is the droid?”

“I don’t know,” Rey gritted out. “I lost sight of him in the forest.”

The woman nodded. “I sense a truth from you. Splendid.” However, her cold gem eyes gave Kylo a heated look. “However, you may be of use to me yet. My Supreme Leader is still very interested in you, Lord of the Ren.”

Kylo Ren’s hands tightened on Rey’s waist and leg. “And I’ve already . . . politely declined his offers in the past.”

“You have,” the woman said with a small smile. Her eyes flicked back to Rey. “But that was before we had some leverage. You could very well fight your way out of this little scrape, but the girl would probably not fare very well. We will not harm the girl if you come with us quietly.”

The masked face turned down to her, and Rey knew that her face had to show her apprehension. She highly doubted that some random man in a mask would willingly give himself into captivity for her. Not with Maz Kanata’s words still swirling around in her head and the uncomfortable truth rearing its ugly head again . . . 

“You will not try to separate the girl from me?”

“No.”

“Then I will come.”

Rey felt her mouth go slack and her eyes go wide. “Are you insane?” she said, heedless of their audience. “You just met me five minutes ago!”

Somehow, she felt like he was smiling beneath the mask. “Not the craziest thing anyone in my family has ever done.”

~~

Leia looked into her husband’s eyes with a mix of concern and amusement. “How did I know we’d find you here?”

“Your extensive intelligence network and plain good sense?” Han replied with a smile. “You changed your hair.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. Love for this man swelled in her heart. Then, something else pricked at her. She opened her eyes, holding up a hand to Han. She could tell that he sensed it too, though he would never admit to his own relatively minor Force sensitivity. His own sharp eyes scanned their surroundings until they landed on something that he obviously didn’t like. He nodded his head towards a ridge that came out of the trees, and Leia turned to see absolutely the last sight she’d ever expected to. 

Standing tall on the ridge were six figures, all dressed in black and grey. The only visible face was that of a stately Togruta female with the venerable montrals of a mature adult, and headtails stripped in jagged blue. Spread out beside the grey-clad Togruta were five humans, all shorter than her, but all dressed in robes of black and various masked helmets of differing design. They stood tall, loose, appearing outwardly unconcerned but ready to spring if needed. However, the figure that caused her the most simultaneous pain and pleasure was the tall man standing to the right of the Togruta. The skeletal mask of her father stared down at her in all of his terrible glory. “Leia,” he boomed.

Around her, she saw her Resistance members tense. Most of them were able to look past her infamous father, but to be faced with him now might be a step too far for some. “Vader,” she replied, using the title he’d taken for himself six years before. 

Pointedly, Leia turned back to Han and the young man who’d just walked up to them. “Where’s Rey?” he asked, his eyes wild. 

It was the Togruta – whom Leia suspected was none other than Ashoka Tano but couldn’t be sure of - who answered. “She was taken by the First Order, along with one of ours.”

“Is that why you’re standing around trying to intimidate us?” Poe Dameron called from where he’d landed his X-wing. Leia liked the kid, but she wondered if he realized how big a bite he was about to take.

Vader and the Togruta slid down the ridge’s sloped side and approached Leia and Han. “Yes, actually, it is,” Vader answered as the Resistance fighters gathered in closer to defend their beloved General and her husband if need be. The other Knights of Ren followed, forming a loose semi-circle behind their Master and Mistress. “They’ve taken Kylo Ren.”

Leia’s blood ran cold, but it was the young man who reacted verbally. “Then you have to help us save Rey!”

“There are many things that the Knights of Ren can help you do,” Vader began. “We all know now of the threat of the First Order’s new base. We need to disable it, and return our two captured comrades. We offer our services to the Resistance for this task.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse the offer. Her biological father had only ever been a source of pain and contention for her, ruining every moment of peace she’d ever had. However, the part of her that was a ruthless pragmatist understood the help he was offering, as well as the fact that half of her problem was the knowledge that her discomfort with him stemmed not from any real hatred, but the knowledge that she was just like her father in temperament. They’d only had to spend the first few days after the Battle of Endor together for the Skywalkers and Solos to realize that while Leia had been trained for politics, she was Anakin Skywalker’s child through and through. Luke was the son of Padme Amidala. If circumstances had worked out differently, she very well could have become the Empress of the Galactic Empire. 

She finally nodded, also knowing that she would do anything to save her sweet baby.

**Author's Note:**

> The is partially based off of an older fic of mine that I wrote in 2016. I liked the idea of a story where Anakin didn't die and became a mentor to Kylo. However, my interest in that story kinda fizzled out because I let myself lose the thread of the story, and I hit a brick wall. 
> 
> Then I saw TLJ. While other fic ideas percolated in my mind, I came back to this same AU, but this time, a little darker as befitting the new information given by the movie. So here is the beginning of my second attempt. I hope you guys enjoy it!


End file.
